Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Democrats’ bid to keep Senate majority may hinge on independent candidates
Democrats' election chances are dim enough that their hopes for keeping a majority in the Senate rest in part on candidates who won't even have a "D" next to their names on the ballots. Published November 2, 2014
Feds paid bill for HIV drugs even after Medicare patients died: audit
Medicare continued paying for HIV-related drugs for 158 patients even after they died in 2012, according to a new watchdog report being released Friday that suggested the problems could extend well beyond AIDS drugs to include all pharmaceuticals covered under Medicare's prescription drug benefit. Published October 31, 2014
Fundraising emails try to shame last-minute dollars out of donors
They're optimistic, pessimistic, groveling — and sometimes they just downright try to shame you into donating. Published October 30, 2014
Obama warned against illegal immigrant amnesty executive action
Three of President Obama's GOP partners on immigration warned him Thursday not to try to act on his own to grant legal status to illegal immigrants, saying the border is not yet secure enough from either illegal immigration or potential terrorist threats. Published October 30, 2014
Illegal immigrant children get tilapia farm, guitar lessons, miniature ponies
One of the contractors housing some of the surge of illegal immigrant children from this summer offers them a petting zoo with miniature ponies, a Tilapia fish-farm operation and guitar lessons, according to documents releasedThursday by a senator who questioned whether the plush accommodations were a good use of taxpayers' money. Published October 30, 2014
Rubio, McCain tell Obama border security trumps legalization
Three of President Obama's GOP partners on immigration warned him Thursday not to try to act on his own to grant tentative legal status to illegal immigrants, saying the border is not yet secure enough from both illegal immigration and potential terrorist threats. Published October 30, 2014
Veterans caught triple-dipping on benefits
One veteran on disability collected nearly $210,000 in benefits in 2013, while another earned more than $122,000 — nearly three times what his actual military pay would have been — according to a watchdog report being released Thursday that found tens of thousands of veterans are triple-dipping on disability. Published October 30, 2014
Harry Reid warns of impeachment fears in fundraising email
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid warned in a fundraising pitch Wednesday that Republicans could try to impeach and remove President Obama from office if the GOP wins control of the Senate in next week's elections. Published October 29, 2014
Boehner: Obama confusing friends and enemies over Israel, Iran
House Speaker John A. Boehner issues a stinging rebuke to President Obama on Wednesday, telling him to get his troops in order after an administration official was quoted calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a wimp, in more colorful language. Published October 29, 2014
Democrats distance themselves from Harry Reid ahead of midterms
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has become a major focus of the 2014 campaign, with many of his embattled fellow Democrats declining to say whether they'd back him for their party caucus leader. Published October 28, 2014
State Department plans to bring foreign Ebola patients to U.S.
The State Department has quietly made plans to bring Ebola-infected doctors and medical aides to the U.S. for treatment, according to an internal department document that argued the only way to get other countries to send medical teams to West Africa is to promise that the U.S. will be the world's medical backstop. Published October 28, 2014
Democrats maintain hope of keeping Senate majority as incumbents hang tough
Republicans have done a good job of putting Senate seats into play this year, but they have been unable to seal the deal in most of those races, giving Democrats hope that a late-season comeback can keep them in control of the upper chamber. Published October 27, 2014
FEC deadlock keeps Internet free from broadcast campaign ad regulations
The Federal Election Commission deadlocked in a crucial Internet campaign speech vote announced late last week, leaving online political blogging and videos free of many of the reporting requirements attached to broadcast ads — for now. Published October 26, 2014
FEC Democrat pushes for controls on Internet political speech
The FEC deadlocked in a crucial Internet campaign speech vote announced Friday, leaving online political blogging and videos free of many of the reporting requirements attached to broadcast ads — for now. Published October 24, 2014
Hispanic vote unclear as border surge clouds immigration politics
Immigrant rights advocates unveiled a campaign billboard in North Carolina on Thursday attacking Democratic Sen. Kay R. Hagan for being too strict on illegal immigrants, raising questions of how Hispanic voters will approach this year's elections. Published October 23, 2014
Federal judge tosses tea party suit seeking permanent protection from IRS targeting
A federal court shot down a tea party group's effort to permanently bar the Internal Revenue Service from targeting conservative groups for special scrutiny, issuing a ruling Thursday that says the tax agency has taken enough steps to correct the problem. Published October 23, 2014
Tom Coburn highlights ridiculous government spending in final Wastebook
This year's Wastebook does not show the $5,210 that the State Department tried to spend on a blowup, human-size foosball field for an embassy in Belize. But the fact that the project isn't in Sen. Tom Coburn's annual report on ridiculous spending choices is probably one of the biggest victories of the report, because it means the State Department canceled the project after the senator's staffers asked about it. Published October 22, 2014
Government waste includes Swedish massages for rabbits, monkey gambling lessons
More than a dozen lucky rabbits were given Swedish massages four times a day, courtesy of U.S. taxpayers, as part of a study to figure out whether massage can help recovery times after strenuous exercise — a practice Sen. Tom Coburn says makes a mockery of federal spending. Published October 22, 2014
Ebola-country travelers to be funneled to five airports
The Homeland Security Department announced Tuesday that it will force travelers from three Ebola-outbreak countries to enter the U.S. through the five airports where federal officials are prepared to screen them for the disease, marking the latest tightening of travel restrictions. Published October 21, 2014
Feds pay thousands of workers to stay home on ‘administrative leave’: study
Taxpayers paid the salaries of tens of thousands of federal employees who were put on paid administrative leave for misconduct but weren't fired from their jobs, according to an audit this week that suggests agencies aren't doing a very good job of getting rid of bad workers. Published October 21, 2014
